The person identified as "Senior White House Official 1" in the transcript of testimony by a government whistleblower is President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, The Washington Post reports.
During her interview last month with House Oversight Committee staffers, Tricia Newbold from the White House's personnel security office said she and other career officials determined that "Senior White House Official 1" had too many "significant disqualifying factors" to receive a security clearance; they were specifically concerned about his private business interests, personal conduct, and potential foreign influence, people who viewed committee documents released this week told the Post. Newbold said they were overruled by the office's former director, Carl Kline, a Trump appointee.
Newbold also said that since last year, 25 people have received clearances or access to national security information, despite warnings about their criminal conduct, drug use, financial problems, and foreign ties.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Earlier this year, several news outlets reported that even though intelligence officials raised the alarm about Kushner, Trump ordered his former chief of staff, John Kelly, give his son-in-law top-secret security clearance.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.